Here's a glimpse of what they had to say:

“Human dignity is not defined by documentation status, income, culture, background ... and we all deserve housing and health.”

“People who are experiencing homelessness or need mental health supports are still people. They should be treated with dignity.”

“Support social connections for seniors and disabled [people] to ensure isolation and loneliness are not overwhelming factors that can lead to depression and helplessness.”

For Anita Redheart, an OHP member who serves on our Tillamook Community Advisory Council, the experience has helped her to feel seen and heard.

For many years, “I never knew how to voice that I didn’t think I was getting good care, enough care or quick-enough care,” said Redheart, who has spent most of her life in Tillamook and has deep family ties there. According to Redheart, she is also an enrolled member of Citizen Potawatomi Nation of Oklahoma and a local advocate for Native American rights and cancer support and connection.

As member of our Tillamook advisory council, Redheart has been a voice for friends and neighbors who struggle to put food on the table, to get off the streets, to rebuild their lives after incarceration or to figure out how to find help with basic needs.

“Everyone seems thrilled about getting all these different ideas from the advisory council members. That’s such a comforting feeling to somebody that has been ignored for what seems like forever. I consider it an honor to be part of this group,” said Redheart, who was once houseless.

Interested in learning more about health equity? Read this article by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Local organizations are not only talking about the issue but making substantial financial commitments along with us.

Over the last two years, three of Clatsop County's largest health care providers (Providence Seaside Hospital, Columbia Memorial Hospital and Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare) have collectively dedicated nearly $2.9 million to an affordable housing fund. So far, they’ve awarded grants totaling nearly $1.9 million, including $1 million (split between two grants) to projects that will create affordable housing in Astoria for seniors, people with disabilities and others.

All three organizations participate in a risk-sharing agreement with Columbia Pacific and have dedicated most of their earnings from that agreement to their housing fund. The agreement is one way Columbia Pacific is working with partners to improve community health. Earnings from the agreement are the result of cost savings from effective care management (like care coordination services) that results in fewer hospital visits and better health.

We’ve supported the housing work of our risk-share partners by contributing our time and expertise. We use our housing investments platform to vet applications for projects in Clatsop County and make grant recommendations to our risk-share partners.

“Affordable housing not only helps to improve the quality of life and health of our members but benefits everyone in the communities we serve,” said Ford. “By supporting our risk-share partners and investing through our Regional Housing Impact Fund, we’re helping to make our communities stronger and healthier.”

The housing crisis has hit our region in a multitude of ways. Among other things, it has made it harder for employers, including health care providers, to recruit workers from outside the region.

Pam Cooper, Director of Finance for Providence Seaside Hospital, says the hospital has difficulty recruiting doctors, nurses and other health care providers because the few rental homes that are available locally are usually too expensive for these professionals. It is even harder for the hospital to attract lower-wage workers, like environmental and food-service workers, from outside the region.

“Health care workers often have student loans, which makes it very difficult for them to afford rental homes in our area,” said Cooper, who has cultivated relationships with local landlords in order to provide transitional housing, when necessary, to newly hired doctors, therapists, nurses and critical temporary staff.

Little by little, the situation on the ground is improving. In June 2022, we celebrated the groundbreaking of Trillium House at Chelsea Gardens, a 42-unit affordable apartment project in Warrenton. In 2020, our Regional Housing Impact Fund awarded a $400,000 grant to the project, which will be owned and operated by the Northwest Oregon Housing Authority, in partnership with Northwest Housing Alternatives. The grant was the first ever from our housing fund.

When it opens in 2023, Trillium House at Chelsea Gardens will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments that are priced to be affordable to people making less than 60 percent of area median income. Five units will be set aside for clients of Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare, and the agency will provide on-site support to those clients. In addition, Clatsop Community Action will support all residents on an as-needed basis, helping them to avoid eviction, access food and energy assistance and address other needs. Six units will also be set aside for agricultural workers.

“Trillium House at Chelsea Gardens represents the very best of our region. It demonstrates how we pull together to solve our biggest challenges,” said Gertler of the Northwest Oregon Housing Authority.

How are the networks making an impact?

Both networks, for instance, have prioritized the Handle-with-Care model as a simple and effective step to help kids get the support they need after experiencing trauma. Handle with Care helps schools and child care providers identify kids who might need extra support following a traumatic event, such as exposure to domestic violence at home.

Here’s how it works: When law enforcement encounters a child at the scene of a traumatic event, the child’s name and three words, “handle with care,” are communicated to that child’s school before the start of the next school day. The information empowers teachers and other staff to offer support, rather than discipline a child who may be acting out. Teachers, for instance, may provide extra help with coursework, refer a child to the school counselor, provide extra time to complete assignments or reschedule exams.

In addition to Handle-with-Care initiative, both networks have rolled out a training and capacity-building process, with the support of Trauma Informed Oregon. The process helps member organizations adopt trauma informed approaches to care and services. The first trauma-informed care training took place in April 2022, followed by two technical follow-up conversations in sector workgroups.

How are the networks tracking their impact?

Both are working with community partners to track and measure specific areas of impact. For instance, the Columbia County Childhood Trauma Informed Network tracks such data as reports of child abuse, the percentage of children who received dental care or attended well-child visits, school absenteeism, access to childcare and food insecurity at the county level.

“From my perspective, trauma informed care is about understanding where people are coming from: In other words, understanding how their life experiences contribute to how they deal with the world around them,” said Todd Jacobson, Executive Director of Columbia Community Mental Health.

Columbia Community Mental Health is the behavioral health provider for Columbia County and a member of the Columbia County Childhood Trauma Informed Network.

Participating in network meetings and workshops has helped the agency prioritize a trauma informed approach to providing care and engaging with its own employees, said Jacobson, a member of the network’s steering committee.

“Not only do we try to be trauma informed in how we provide services to our clients, but also in how we operate as an organization,” he said. The Columbia County Childhood Trauma Informed Network “helps us keep trauma and trauma-informed care at the forefront of our discussions.”

Interested in learning more about the work of the Resilient Clatsop County network and the Columbia County Childhood Trauma Informed Network? Visit their websites:

• Resilient Clatsop County: resilientclatsopcounty.org
• Columbia County Childhood Trauma Informed Network: columbiacountyctin.org